Archive for April, 2009

I was checking my voicemail today, and one in particular required me to write a reminder to myself in my calendar. As I wrote, the dulcet tones of the voicemail lady (who wants that job?) instructed me on my many options as to the storage and disposal of the message. When I did not enter in a numerical response, she politely asked “Are you still there?“.

Wow, did that get my brain turning. Of course I was still there, but was I really there in my mind. I had already begun planning the return call, the steps to complete my task, and the possible solution. I entered in the code to delete, hung up the phone and began contemplating the larger question.

So now I’m going to pose this question to myself, my clients, and you the reader. When you started your business where did you want it to go? How did you feel about the endeavor in the early stages (first weeks, first months, first year)? Are you still there?

We’re taught early on in life to plan things in advance. Set goals, reach for the stars, have a desired outcome. Yet somehow once we reach these goals we suffer a huge letdown. After the first dollar bill is framed,

First Dollar Bill Frame

the grand opening party over, or the first profit shown on the books we feel deflated. We set other goals bigger numbers, more success, but often these don’t live up to that initial fervor. Is it just a fact of life? I don’t think so.

There is a hunger that all of us feel in the first few days of a new job, new project, or other activity. Over time that fades with the monotony of the activity or the lack of stimulus or improvement. The goal is to remember that feeling, to keep that dedication, to strive to improve and excite. Every week, month, year you should be asking yourself Am I still there? In essence, you have to continue to promote yourself to yourself.

The definition of promote is: to contribute to the growth or prosperity of . Don’t you want to contribute to your own personal growth and prosperity? As a promoter I often have to coach clients to think big, set goals, and move forward when they’re unsure. I never ask them to do something I wouldn’t do myself. The hardest goals to set are stretch goals. We all set a vision for ourselves and our companies. But to truly attain that vision we have to stretch ourselves and set bars high. We can set quantitative goals, weekly goals, or even recognition goals but they must be large enough that they challenge us and excite our minds to dream.

Find some time for yourself, sit down and come up with a vision for yourself and one for your company/job. Then stretch your mind and set some great stretch goals. If it’s a quantitative goal, add 10% to what you think you can do, or even 20%. If it’s a weekly goal, challenge yourself to complete it before the week’s end. If it’s a recognition goal, double it! You’ll set smaller milestones for yourself that may need to be accomplished in order to reach these stretch goals, but each one will give you the sense of accomplishment we all crave.